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LEGO
LEGO is a Danish brand of toy bricks that can be used to assemble models of various intricacy. In 1999, Star Wars became their first licensed product (Spider-Man, Harry Potter, Batman, and a few others followed) and since then, building sets from all six films have been released. These sets mainly feature prominent vehicles, in addition several scenes. LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game, released in 2005, was based on the LEGO sets portraying characters such as Anakin Skywalker and Mace Windu in the prequel movies. A sequel was also released, which is based on the original trilogy (Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi). It is presented in a similar format, though introduces new features to correspond more with the interactivity of LEGO. A compilation of the first two LEGO Star Wars games named LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga was announced at Celebration IV. This game is for next-generation consoles and incorporates all six films. The current Star Wars license with LEGO is said to have been renewed to continue until 2011.[http://www.starwars.com/collecting/news/lego/news20060213.html LEGO Star Wars Wins T.O.T.Y. Award] Craft As mentioned above, spacecraft and other vehicles are the LEGO Company's mainstay for the line. The sets include spacecraft such as the Millennium Falcon and the X-wing, along with some lesser known craft, such as the Flash Speeder and Count Dooku's Geonosian speeder bike. Specific pieces of special design and various printed pieces have been developed by the company to achieve an accurate look for some of the more complicated craft. LEGO still uses stickers as opposed to transfers, as they are more cost-efficient. Some sets over time have been redesigned by LEGO, such as the Millennium Falcon, snowspeeder, landspeeder, and X-wing. The AT-ST and Y-wing were redesigned and released in late 2006 and early 2007. Slave I has been redesigned three times (two for Boba Fett, one for Jango Fett), the latest in 2006. Even the minifigures have been redesigned, such as the super battle droid's change from blue to silver, Qui-Gon Jinn has been given a new torso, the pilot droid torso piece is now completely blue, and droidekas were made with new pieces. Some minifigures (Boba Fett and stormtroopers) were temporarily redesigned with extra printings on their legs. Ultimate Collector Series Some vehicles have been created to be more detailed and larger than most. This line of models is known as the Ultimate Collector's Series (UCS). Due to the larger scale, more pieces and a higher skill level to build these models is usually needed. Due to the high quantity of pieces, they are generally more expensive than most LEGO sets. Some of the models included in the UCS line are the X-wing, Imperial Star Destroyer, Snowspeeder, Y-wing, AT-ST, TIE Advanced, and most recently, a new, minifigure scale Millennium Falcon (the only UCS set to come with minifigures). These UCS models also come with a fact sheet on their ships; however, there are no minifigures included, aside from the aforementioned Millennium Falcon and astromech droid heads for the X-wing, Y-wing, and Naboo starfighter. Star Wars LEGO Mini series (2002–2005/2007) In 2002, LEGO began releasing a line of MINI models. These models were much smaller and contained fewer pieces than the normal sets, and, therefore, they were not as detailed though much cheaper. There have been a wide variety of MINI models released, ranging from Episode I's MTT to Episode VI's Imperial shuttle. In 2005, two promotional MINI models were released in celebration of the release of Episode III. For now, they are the last of the MINI line, as LEGO has made no announcements regarding a continuation of the MINI series. However, StarWars.com is currently accepting pre-orders for new Star Wars key chains, which include three new MINI Star Wars vehicles from Episode IV. LEGO has released key chains in the past as minifigures, but this will be the first time in which a MINI vehicle becomes a key-chain. Locations/Scenes LEGO has also created sets or parts of sets that are focused on scenes and locations from the movies, such as the "Final Duel" and "Jedi Defense" sets. "Locations" range from large sets to single objects, such as moisture vaporators and cranes. Single objects are most often paired with vehicles, such as the Episode II speeder bike sets: 7113 (Owen Lars' swoop) with the moisture vaporator and 7114 (Count Dooku's Geonosian speeder bike) with the crane. Most of the smaller location sets are paired with vehicles, not limited to single props. 7180 B-wing came with a Rebel Control Center, and 4502 X-wing Fighter had Yoda's Dagobah hut as a side-draw. Episode I's 7121 Naboo Swamp, a swampy landscape of plant life, was paired with two STAPs and their battle droid pilots. Also, there are massive stand-alone playsets, such as 4480 Jabba's Palace (though this can be connected to 4475 Jabba's Message and 4476 Jabba's Prize to form an even larger Jabba's Palace), 10123 Cloud City, and 7257 Ultimate Lightsaber Duel. The latest playset is 7666 Hoth Rebel Base, which includes a new snowspeeder (third model) and an E-web blaster. Characters The final, but very integral part of a LEGO Star Wars set is the characters. Almost all of the saga's most iconic characters have been incarnated into LEGO form. The most common form in which characters appear in the LEGO universe are as minifigures: classic LEGO people. These come with a boxy torso and interchangeable heads, torso, headpiece (hair or some form of headgear), cape (made from real cloth and attached onto the neck, before the head), appearing on some characters, and legs. Due to the unique appearances of the many droids, soldiers, and aliens that comprise the Star Wars universe, many new molds have been specially created for the series. Prime examples include the General Grievous minifigure, the Gungan and Rodian heads, and the helmets for Darth Vader and stormtroopers (including stormtrooper variations). Molds for accessories have also been created, such as headpieces and weapons. These include the lightsaber handle (which has since been reused for other purposes both in and out of the Star Wars range), electrobinoculars, the new-mold blasters in the 2007 sets, Rebel pilot helmets, and more. There are a few variations of the standard LEGO minifigure produced for the Star Wars range. The most controversial and prominent types are the light-up lightsaber (LUL) minifigures, released with some of the larger Episode III sets in 2005. Characters given the treatment include Darth Vader, Mace Windu, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Luminara Unduli. These figures look like usual ones on the surface, except that, to facilitate internal electronics, all components cannot be removed other than the headpiece. When the head is pressed down, an LED illuminates the LEGO lightsaber blade. The batteries last three hours and were not originally intended for replacement, though it is possible. The other variation is the minifigure magnet. So far, four such sets (containing three characters each) have been released. The twelve characters are Yoda, Anakin Skywalker, a green clone trooper, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Vader, Chewbacca, a stormtrooper, an AT-ST pilot, a Rebel pilot, a Royal Guard, Princess Leia, Boba Fett, Anakin Skywalker (young), Darth Maul, and a Naboo pilot. Strong magnets are placed in the minifigure's legs and torso, so while they look exactly like a normal LEGO minifigure, they can stick onto magnetic surfaces. Unlike in LULs, only the legs and the torso of the minifigure cannot be separated. Star Wars products were also among the first, besides the Spider-Man and Harry Potter (starting at the Prisoner of Azkaban sets) range, to experience the change from yellow to peach. As of mid-2004, all of LEGO's licensed product ranges experienced a change in skin tone from the classic yellow to the more realistic peach. Other less common incarnations of characters from the universe include Technic models and UCS characters. Technic Technic is a form of LEGO which entirely forsakes the regular brick design and relies on technical parts such as gears, axles, cross-bars, and more. It is mainly droids, such as the pit droid, R2-D2, C-3PO, battle droid, super battle droid, and droideka that have been incarnated in this unique form. Technic sets allow for accurate features and various movements otherwise impossible. Both the pit droid and battle droid sets fold up, while the super battle droid has a quick-draw blaster function, R2-D2 produces a tool arm, and C-3PO's head and arms fall off when the center is pushed. However, Jango Fett, Darth Vader, and the stormtrooper have also been turned into Technic figures, possibly because of the mechanical appearance of their costumes. Ultimate Collector Series The last way characters appear in LEGO is as UCS models (see more above). Darth Maul's bust and Yoda are the only two UCS characters as of 2007. Building at this scale provides immense amounts of character detail. These sets are made primarily of standard LEGO bricks. List of sets Some of the Star Wars LEGO sets include landspeeders, TIE fighters, and characters such as Darth Vader and Han Solo. These sets have been produced and re-released over the years, and new sets were created with the release of each prequel film. As of 2007, the following LEGO sets have been produced: Keychains and keyrings Notes and references Category:LEGO Category:Toy companies